Winter Hope
by clairemeatsix
Summary: After Elena, can Damon ever love again?
1. Chapter 1

**PRELOGUE**

She was like a shadow, one which sweeped through the room in confidence and cast a shade upon every where she walked, inevitably leaving an impression. For me, that was one I would never forget. No amount of compulsion could make me forget that girl. I didn't want to. She was like a soft summer breeze blowing throw your hair after an eternity indoors. She was the drug to an addict.

She was beautiful and she was everything.


	2. Chapter 2

**CHAPTER 2**

**WINTER**

The snow fluttered down softly. I sat outside. Flipped the switch and I was cold all over. People ran around in the snow, holding newspapers above their heads so the snow would not melt on them. I smirked and let the flakes dance down and into my hair, onto my clothes where they soon melted. Flipped the switch and I felt none of it. The perks of being a vampire. My eyes flitted over the humans as they laughed and threw handfuls of snow at eachother, even though they were still trying to keep it off their heads. Silly humans. Of course, back in my mortality days, I probably would have reacted the same.. at first.

There was one who didn't try to shield herself against the snow and I watched her weave expertly in and out of the bodies. Her stride abruptly stopped and she stared across the road to something I didn't see. Gathering her hair up, she pulled the hood of her coat up, one that I could tell was lined with red silk and walked away, keeping her eyes trained to the ground. I followed the direction in which she was looking, searching for the thing that had caused the change. I saw nothing. I hadn't recognised the girl. Newbie.

Newbie's always left an impression in a small town such as Mystic Falls. Most of them never left and they were never usually seen again.

I let it go, she was probably just passing through or making a swift visit. I wouldn't blame her if she didn't try to get out of her as quick as possible. That's what most people would try to do after the rumors that spread like wildfire. But there was something about this girl.. I was compelled to follow her. I felt like there was something about her.. something I had to know. I had to know _her._

I followed her into The Grill. I took a seat at the bar, swivelled around and watched her. She still had her hood up and so her face was partically concealed to my view from where I was sitting. She took a seat across from someone. A body moved in my way so I couldn't see who. The girl tipped her head back and let her hood fall with it. Her dark hair fell down the side of her face, blocking her from me like a veil. I swivelled and addressed the barman. "Hey," I jerked my thumb over my shoulder, took a sip of my drink. "Do you know that girl?"

He circled a dishtowel inside of a glass, following my thumb. He narrowed his eyes, furrowed his brow, shrugged. "I dunno, man." He set the glass upside down under the bench and started working the dishtowel on a new one. "Must be new. She's talking to that.. Klaus guy.. maybe she's family."

Inwardly, I groaned. Another one of those guys was not a problem I could be bothered to deal with at the moment. I turned around, rested my elbows on the bar. "Maybe she is.. Maybe she is."

"I don't know who she is, but I inted to find out. Something tells me she's not human and if she's talking to Klaus.. well, she has to be trouble." My eyes dance over my "friends", if that's what they were, settled on the sofa's of the Salvatore house I was telling them about the new girl in town who I had encountered earlier. Well, I hadn't encountered her per say, but I had come across her and I was curious, to say the least. I wanted to know more about her, I wanted to know who she was and what her deal is. "We need to find away to get her alone."

"Easier said than done, brother. How do you propose we do that?" Stefan leaned by the door, his brow furrowed in the never-ending frown that he sported day in and day out, his arms were folded tightly across his chest. He licked his lips and gestured his hands in my direction. "What is the ultimate Damon's plan?"

I chuckled at him. He was still pissed Elena and I made out.. a few times. "I suggest, brother, that we be civilised and talk to the girl before jumping to violence."

Bonnie walked in the door then, carrying the Grimoire tightly in her arms. She dropped bags by the door, huffing her breath out in a flustered manner. "Sorry, I'm late guys. Damon." she nodded in my direction, settling down on the sofa beside Elena who was frowning, just like her menacing boyfriend. "So, do we know who this girl is? How old did she look? She may be at the dance tonight."

"I guess, she _looked_ about eighteen, maybe. Who knows if that's how old she really is though." I paced the room for a short moment. "There's a dance, is there? At the school?"

"Yeah." Elena scratched her arm. Looked at Stefan. Shrugged. "I guess Damon's coming then."

"Indeed he is."

I skirted the outside of the hall. It just so happened to be a Masquerade Ball and tracking down the dark haired stranger would be harder than we had intended. My eyes peered at the eyes for a while before I remembered I hadn't even seen her eyes, only small parts of her face. But she was striking and I felt that I would know her when I seen her. It shouldn't have been hard to find just one person. But in a room full of masked figures, one among many was like searching for a needle in a haystack.

"Looking for someone?"

I straightened my suit jacket and hastily turned aorund to face the voice. I knew it was her before I turned. "You've been surprisingly hard to track down," I smiled at her. She _was _striking. Her pale skin was startling against the midnight dark black of her gown and hair. The gems sparkled on her butterfly-shaped mask. Her long hair fell over her shoulders and she flipped it over. Her eyes though.. were the most beautiful things I ever laid my eyes on. Dark brown. So, so dark that they could be mistaken for black but they still twinkled and shined when she smiled. I walked along the trail of the wall with her. "To what do we owe the pleasure?"

"Charming," she smirked at me.

"It's been known to happen."

The girl tipped her head back and laughed, dancing a few steps ahead. Abruptly, she turned around. It was so unexpected that I almost walked into her. The girl brought her hand up to stop me and let them lay limp on my chest. As if on instinct, my hands grasped her hips. She didn't say anything or move away. "What's your name, Prince Charming?"

"Damon. Damon Salvatore. And you?"

"Elia."

"Do I get a second name?" I pulled her over to the dancefloor, giving meaning to my hands on her hips. Elia allowed her arms to wrap around my neck and I allowed her to rest her head on my shoulder as we spoke. "Or is it just Elia, the dark hair girl who was full of mystery?"

"I don't know, Damon Salvatore. Time will tell." Elia twirled away from me. I pulled her back in. "Why were you looking for me?"

Why were we looking for her? "Uh, I-we just wanted to know what your intention was in this town. What your intention is in this town.. with Klaus." At this point, I knew the girl was different but whether she was human or not was still in question. The girl - Elia - certainly made me feel human all over again. Like Katherine did. "I don't know if you know, but me and my.. friends.. have some problems with your ol' pal."

"Ah," she chuckled, shaking her head. "Don't we all have problems with him?"

I guess we did.

"Look," Elia glanced around the room, her dark eyes taking in the ball. Her nose twitched and her eyes narrowed. Bringing her gaze back up to me, she reached her hands up behind my head and deftly untied my mask. I let it fall. "Let's not talk about it here."

Elia took in my ice blue eyes, her dark eyes never giving away anything away as she did so. My hands gripped her waist, but I let go, drawing my fingers up her body to her mask. She stayed perfectly still, impossibly still. I gently pull the black, silk ribbon out. At first, I held her mask up to her face and her fingers wrapped around my hand. I focused in on her eyes. "May I?"

Elia nodded.

I hesitated and then pulled it off.

My world shattered into a million pieces. I closed my eyes.

When I opened them, she was gone.


End file.
